Purdue graduates develop game, create their own jobs
August 1, 2012
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MorVid
Interactive LLC, based in the Purdue Research Park, has launched its Pak Attack
game for iPhone and iPad. Recent Purdue graduates designed and developed the
game and may create their own jobs depending on its success. (MorVid
Interactive image) |
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Recent Purdue University graduates who design art for mobile applications may have created their own full-time jobs at a Purdue Research Park affiliate firm through the success of a new game they developed.
MorVid Interactive LLC launched the Pak Attack game for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Pak Attack is slated for release for Android devices this fall. The game is designed to appeal to adults and children, and is rated E (Everyone) by the Entertainment Software Rating Board.
David Nelson, CEO and co-founder of MorVid Interactive, said four graduates from Purdue's College of Technology had previously worked on the company's educational, marketing and business development mobile applications.
"We originally got into the business of building apps because we wanted to create games," he said. "Everyone met to talk about the idea of building Pak Attack. We had limited funds, but we moved forward with this program because there is the promise of ownership in the game and full-time positions if it proves successful."
Nelson said Pak Attack is a strategy and skill game that allows players to compete against the program or one another in a multiplayer mode.
"Players choose one of four characters - Dragon, Bunny, El Roboto and Toucan - and an opponent. They build a base around their character with wood beams, metal and other materials, then take turns with the opponent to destroy the other's base with a cannon, trebuchet or missile launcher," he said. "Players win power-ups during the game, including health for their character, ink blotches to blind the opponent and shields. The first to destroy the opponent's base, wins."
Chelsea Bill, Sennett Johnson, Andrew Lind and Stephen Woodall earned their bachelor's degree from Purdue in computer graphics technology and worked on Pak Attack.
Bill, from West Lafayette, Ind., graduated in 2011. She designed and animated the characters, designed the user interface and was digital illustrator for Pak Attack. She was hired as a contractor on MorVid Interactive's HearNSpell iPad app, which led Nelson to ask her to create the art for Pak Attack.
Johnson, from Carmel, Ind., graduated in 2011. He did design work on an early MorVid Interactive iPhone app, and then designed and animated weapons used by the characters in Pak Attack. He now has a job with John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Lind, from Valparaiso, Ind., graduated in 2008. He designed sound and music for Pak Attack, worked on game design and helped with post-production marketing. He has worked on MorVid Interactive applications since 2007.
Woodall, also from Carmel, Ind., graduated in 2009 from Purdue, where he was one of Nelson's classmates. He created background scenes and assisted in the user interface design of Pak Attack.
Nelson said Pak Attack's success will be measured by the number of downloads and amount of feedback it receives from users. He said the sole goal of creating the game was to encourage friends who had worked together to take a small amount of time to develop it and potentially create their own jobs.
"We want to provide jobs for talented artists, designers and programmers who made the game," he said. "In today's economy I hear people say they may not like what they do for a living, but it's a job. Hopefully, if Pak Attack is successful, everyone involved can have permanent jobs doing what they love: creating and upgrading games that everyone can enjoy."
About MorVid Interactive LLC
MorVid Interactive's creative team is skilled in developing content including games and education, marketing and business development applications that will engage our clients' consumers. We use our experience in game development to create applications that are built to be social and shared among friends. This allows consumers to experience our clients' brands and share them with the world.
About Purdue Research Park
The Purdue Research Park has the largest university-affiliated business incubation program in the country. The park's four Indiana sites are in West Lafayette, Indianapolis, Merrillville and New Albany. The nearly 200 companies located in the park network employ about 4,000 people.
Purdue Research Park contact: Steve Martin, 765-588-3342, sgmartin@prf.org
Source: David Nelson, 812-371-4370, david@morvid.com
